Rosy Cheeks…

"I swear, Clarence, if they see us, I'm going to...-"

"Relax Officer Kendall, nobody's gonna see us."

"I don't know how you made me go along with this…" Kendall glanced sharply at Kick.

"I have my ways…" he said in a smug tone, making Kendall narrow her eyes even more, "plus it helped you were so freaked."

"Urgh…" groaned Kendall. "Just let's hurry it up… I feel like a rebel."

"Good, that's the point."

Kendall shot him another evil glare. Kick caught it.

"Look," he sighed, "we wouldn't even be in this mess if you hadn't freaked out over that C plus. Never thought you'd get so hyped up."

"Clarence," she said darkly, "it's English. Who gets a C in English? No one! Especially not me!"

"Uh… I get C's in English all the time. And D's, and even…-"

"Yeah, well, you don't count," Kendall grumbled.

It was Kick's turn to glare at her. "Nice way to treat someone who's helping you steal your paper."

Kendall shivered slightly, "It's not stealing, per say, it's more along the lines of… replacing the paper with a more… attractive one."

"Stealing," Kick concluded.

Kendall frowned, "I'm not stealing, I told you, it's just…"

"Then explain why we're sneaking around in a hallway in the middle of the night." Kick deadpanned.

"My rep depends on it…?" she answered weakly.

Kick snorted. "You have a rep?"

"Yeah! Of course I do! Of course, not the one being a teacher's pet… that totally aside, yeah I do have a rep."

"Oh yeah? Being what?"

"I'm a studious up bringer of the school who represents all its curriculum has to offer."

"Basically you're a nerd."

"Clarence!" She kicked him in the shin. He winced.

"Now that's gonna leave a mark," he squeaked. She stood over him strictly. "Serves you right for calling me that." Kendall turned on her heel, and strolled in the opposite direction. "If you're not going to co-operate, don't bother coming at all!" she called out to him angrily.

It took him quite a while to catch up (once the pain had subsided). Once he did, Kick discovered Kendall was already at the room, trying to get in.

"Ugh, it's locked!" she cried, shaking the door. She slumped against it. "Now what am I gonna do?" she moaned. Kendall closed her eyes, then opening them to find a bunch of keys dangling in front of her.

"Keys?" Kick grinned.

"Wha…? How did you…?" she stuttered.

Kick shrugged. "Mm, nothing really. Janitor's a cool guy."

"You really thought of everything, didn't you?" Kendall said, bemused.

"Yep. And the security cameras? All mine," he said proudly.

"So…they're down, all of them?" Kendall asked.

"Yup. All we gotta do now's break in, and get that puppy!"

"Okay…" Kendall said, following him, still amused.

Once inside, Kick shut the door carefully. When Kendall shot him a questioning look, he pointed to the camera at the top corner of the room. "That one's really sensitive. Gunther did a heck of a job tricking it out, but any sudden movement could trigger it," he whispered. Kendall nodded vigorously to show she understood.

"Where's your paper?" Kick asked. Kendall pulled a sheaf out of her bag. "My real test's in one of those drawers. Miss. Fritzpatrick never locks them."

"She better not," Kick said darkly.

Kendall tiptoed over to the desk with the best she could, but with minimum light, visibility was a poor driver. Reaching out, she clumsily grabbed one of the drawers, and pulled.

What came out were not her papers.

"Yow!" she squealed, as something snapped onto her. Pulling the thing out (painfully), she held it up into the light from the window.

"Mouse traps? Really?" she said exasperatedly.

"Kendall?" Kick's voice came from the background. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Kendall marched over to him, and shoved the object near Kick's face.

"A mousetrap. In her drawer. She could've went with pens and pencils, but, noooo, she went with MOUSETRAPS."

"She probably set that there to stop kids stealing."

Kendall glanced at him. "How would you know?"

"They're teachers. Not too hard to figure out."

Kick threw the mousetrap to the other side of the room, grabbed her by the palm, and examined Kendall's hand as closely as he could. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

She wasn't sure, but just there, something happened in her stomach.

"I'm… I'm fine," she gulped, and gingerly took her hand away from him. She took a few steps nervously away from him, and was aware he was watching her every step.

She turned her back to him, and breathed.

It didn't help. Still that stomach feeling.

And his eyes were still on her. Like on her hand. Too intensely.

The dark did nothing to help.

Ugh, Kendall groaned mentally. She decided she'd focus first, ponder later. At least for now.

Kick watched her as she cautiously reached toward the second drawer. She stuck her hand in gingerly.

Nothing happened.

Kendall gave a sigh of relief and gave a thumbs-up to Kick. He grinned back at her.

But then a shriek.

In a flash, Kick grabbed his board out of nowhere, and fished Kendall out the darkness. "Come on!" he said roughly to the startled girl. In the same instant, the light on the camera turned green. Kendall saw this, and immediately did what she could.

Using Kick's skateboard, she flung it as hard as she could towards the camera. It wobbled crazily, and fell to the floor with a crash. "Let's go! Let's go!" she cried. Grabbing Kick by the arm, she slammed the door shut as she tore down the hallway, Kick behind her luging his skateboard.

"What happened?" Kick hissed. "I don't know!" she hissed back. Kick saw a pin-point of light in the distance, and let out a sigh. "That must be Gunther!" he said.

Kendall though, narrowed her eyes. The thing ahead wasn't clear, but it wasn't Gunther. She stopped behind a row of lockers to watch. As the figure came closer, her eyes widened.

"It's a security guard!" she whispered. Kick's eyes widened too.

They were stuck.

This was the locker zone. With no place to hide.

The security guard came closer and closer, and…

…eventually passed them without even noticing.

Kick was on top of the locker, he had managed to fit himself in the small spaces above the lockers. Kendall was below him, inside the locker he was above.

They landed on the ground with a soft thud. Kick first, and he served as a landing cushion for Kendall.

"He's gone," Kendall breathed. "Yeah," Kick coughed, having the wind knocked out of him. "Yeah, and you did it. I never knew you could throw a person like that," he grinned.

"Yeah," she grinned back. "I certainly didn't know I could rip off a locker door. Guess desperation comes in handy."

"Could you do that to Brad?"

Kendall laughed, knowing that was his way of a compliment. "We'll see."

Kick looked down to his boots. "Sorry you couldn't switch the papers."

Kendall stared at him for a second, and encircled him in a hug. "It doesn't matter," she said, "besides, it was worth the thrill."

Kick moved his head slightly to look at her. Her eyes were closed, and she was smiling. He didn't need light to tell him this was a real smile, not some of the fake ones flashed off at the teachers. It was genuine. And he was one of the few to experience it.

He clutched at her slightly more, and placed a hand on her hair, nudging softly at her warmth.

There was really nothing to describe how he felt. He was just there, and she was just there. And being there seemed to be all that mattered.

Well, that and his stomach gave funny lurches now and then. That, and he didn't want to break away. That, and she was different now.

Different in a happy way. A way he didn't want to forget.

Rosy cheeks, dimpled chin, rosy lips, teeth within…

That nursery rhyme. That was it. The one that always stuck for some reason. Kick looked at Kendall one last time. She was smiling. Her lips were unmistakably curved. And they weren't pale like before (or were they always like this?). Her cheeks had gained soft tint of red. Her skin had this… glow…? It was the first time he'd looked at her so closely. It fit. It all fit. It was all so… so… like the poem.

That was what to describe her. The only way.

She was happy. So, so happy.

He didn't know why, but he was at that extent too.

Kick's a little too oblivious to know why he's just as happy as Kendall. As you can see, this is a one shot about happiness, and just, y'know, K/K time. :)

The next chapter of Tried will be up soon. Thank you for all your amazing reviews. I was really happy after reading each one. Sorry it took so long. School's a bummer.

I hope I haven't disfigured the character of each too much.

PLEASE leave a review! They are what inspires me!

Thanks for reading!